Kelowna Rockets back on top of Buzzing The Net Dynamic Dozen

The first Double-D of December sees the Kelowna Rockets enconseced in top spot.

The Rockets have experienced a little regression all the way down to a mere 22-3-3-0 overall record and a three-point lead over Brandon for first overall in the Western Hockey League. Nevertheless, the team captained by Washington Capitals blueline prospect Madison Bowey still maintains a slim lead over Rimouski and Oshawa in our weekly exercise in ranking the performance of all 60 Canadian Hockey League teams.

1. Kelowna Rockets, WHL (.574 RPI, +1.9 SRS, +1) — Did you hear a beeping sound too? Kelowna has lost 3-of-4, but it backed into our top spot since the setbacks were against the red-hot Portland Winterhawks and Regina Pats. The loss to the Pats was a bit perplexing since there was no extenuating circumstance for it, with a three-day cushion in the schedule on either side of the game, but sometimes a team's timing can just be off. The Rockets do have a three-home game week before Madison Bowey and Rourke Chartier jet east to try out for Team Canada.

2. Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL (.569 RPI, +1.0 SRS, +3) — Rimouski has won three in a row since getting hammered in Halifax on Nov. 22 when Samuel Morin was returning from missing six weeks with facial fractures. The big man is getting comfortable again and has four points over his last three games, while helping Rimouski hold its foes to just seven goals. Beating surging Quebec last Sunday on the strength of a Frédérik Gauthier overtime goal cemented Rimouski at No. 2.

Of course, Rimouski rallied to beat Chicoutimi on Friday after the news broke during the second intermission that the Saguenéens had fired their coach and general manager. Jean-Réal Couture has a hilarious and on-point recap of how it all unfolded in a real time and concludes that the league can't allow such leaks to happen.

3. Oshawa Generals, OHL (.568 RPI, +1.6 SRS, -2) — One loss to 55th-ranked Niagara in their first post-Cole Cassels suspension game put Gennies out of top spot, just like that. The next few weeks will be an important evaluation period for GM Roger Hunt and coach D.J. Smith as they try to determine how much to ante up a potential playoff run. The Generals play 6-of-7 to end the first half on the road while Michael Dal Colle, Sonny Hertzberg and Tobias Lindberg, like Cassels, will all be leaving to join junior teams. Simply put, they'll have a better idea of what they have.

4. Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (.554 RPI, +1.2 SRS, +6) — The Tigers' six-spot leap was goosed by the their win last week over Red Deer, which moved up 10 in its own right. Medicine Hat had to earn it, waiting out the exasperation that comes with trying to score on Edmonton's Tristan Jarry to finish off the week in the winners' circle. The Central Division leaders are also due to get 19-year-old centre Markus Eisenschmid back from an injury at some point during a 4-in-5 U.S. Division/Kootenay schlep this week.

5. Québec Remparts, QMJHL (.548 RPI, +0.6 SRS, +7) — Since nothing really matters for the Remparts until May 21, the opening of the Memorial Cup, it's a positive that they played Rimouski even for 60 minutes without leading scorer Dmytro Timashov and overage forward Marc-Olivier Roy. It's a good omen, considering that Quebec has somewhat underperformed on the road.

Incidentally, it's not such a big deal that only three of the 29 players on Canada's preliminary roster hail from the Q. Erstwhile Remparts star Anthony Duclair could still be loaned, while two other 19-year-olds, Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon, are also in the NHL. Call this the Q being a victim of its success. Plus non-Canadians such as Adam Erne and Nikolaj Ehlers could be impact players at the WJC.

6. Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL (.547 RPI, +1.1 SRS, -3) — It is wild that Brandon is averaging more than a full goal more than anyone else in the Dub's Eastern Division. The black and gold are pulling that off with a sole top-10 scorer, Jayce Hawryluk, and just a second among the league's top 15, late blooming former bantam draft first-rounder  Tim McGauley, whose tear has continued unabated.

Brandon has yet to throw Alex Moodie, the change-of-pace goalie who was acquired from Saskatoon. The new playoff format might mean there's some intrinsic benefit to getting a goalie from a division rival.

7. Erie Otters, OHL (.544 RPI, +2.1 SRS, -1) — The long and short of the Otters vs. Oilers fight is that Sherry Bassin bought himself time on Monday when a U.S. federal judge "vacated" the $4.6-million US judgement the Oilers initially obtained against Bassin over a failed 2011 deal to buy the team. It essentially means that if the Oilers want to press their case, it will take much, much longer to force a sale.

The Otters, meantime, have won 5-of-6 without Connor McDavid and injured overage defenceman Troy Donnay. Centre Dylan Strome has 10 points in past half-dozen contests; it will be interesting to see whether his production spikes after getting the thanks-but-no-thanks from Hockey Canada.

8. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL (.543 RPI, +0.9 SRS, +8) — The first installment of the Quebecor Derby is on tap for Friday, with B-B visiting the Remparts. The Armada is coming off a 5-of-6 points trek through the Maritimes, where they have typically thrived over the past couple years. One concern troll-worthy nugget: the Danick Martel-Nikita Jevpalovvs-Philippe Sanche trio has scored exactly 60 per cent of the team's goals (51 of 85), which seems on the high side. However, they're making it work in a West Division where the main challengers are third-year Sherbrooke and injury-plagued Gatineau.

9. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL (.542 RPI, +1.4 SRS, -5) — Make it three seasons in a row that coach Sheldon Keefe has helped an overage forward earn a pro contract. Rugged winger Jean Dupuy signed with the Buffalo Sabres last weekend. A year ago, overage centre Tyler Gaudet signed with the Arizona Coyotes one season after he was in Junior A with Keefe. That speaks well for how the 'Hounds don't pigeonhole older juniors.

The Soo took a five-spot drop after losing to the Sudbury Wolves on Sunday. It came, though, when they were playing what Keefe called "their third game in 43 hours."

10. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (.540 RPI, +0.3 SRS, +4) — Welcome back, Winterhawks, although your younger brother has claimed your room and you have to sleep on the fold-out upstairs. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Chase De Leo and Nic Petan have helped Portland, presently on a five-game win streak, cobble together some offence. Nineteen-year-old newcomer Blake Heinrich has also shored up the defence under Jamie Kompon; Portland's held all five opponents to three or fewer during its streak.

11. Kitchener Rangers, OHL (.528 RPI, +0.1 SRS, -3) — Every OHL team has absorbed a home-ice regulation loss,.which raises the question of when (whether?) Matthew Greenfield will get another start. The 19-year-old will probably get one of the games in this week's home-and-home with Owen Sound, but the fun fact of the week is that Greenfield got W when the Rangers handed both Erie and Ottawa their first home-ice regulation losses.

The Rangers righted themselves with that win over Ottawa on Sunday. Overage defenceman Max Iafrate was back in form, logging major minutes. The upshot of Buffalo Sabres signing Justin Bailey not being chosen for Team USA's camp despite being a top-20 OHL scorer is that the Rangers get to keep him for the upcoming low period.

12. Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL (.526 RPI, +0.8 SRS, +17) — Time will tell (obviously) whether the Tigers' cathartic northern road trip pushes them forward. Along with scoring 16 goals over two wins, there was the apparent sacrificial rite of Felix Lauzon tussing with ex-Tigre Vytal Côté during the Sunday win over Rouyn-Noranda. Goalie Chase Marchand is also an emerging feel-good story. The Nova Scotia native has a 2.64/.924 slash line after spending last season with Cape Breton, the Junior A Amherst Ramblers and Mississauga in the OHL.

The not as dynamic but still very distinguished dozen — 13. Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL (.525, +5); 14. Red Deer Rebels, WHL (.525, +10); 15. Ottawa 67's, OHL (.523, -8); 16. Sherbrooke Phoenix, QMJHL (.522, +11); 17. London Knights, OHL (.522, -6); 18. Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL (.520, +1); 19. Regina Pats, WHL (.518, +19); 20. Swift Current Broncos, WHL (.518, +1); 21. Owen Sound Attack, OHL (.517, -8); 22. Everett Silvertips, WHL (.516, -13); 23. Sarnia Sting, OHL (.511, +13); 24. Victoria Royals, WHL (.510, -4).

Hot team — Regina Pats, up 19 (19 to 38).

Cold team — Kamloops Blazers, down 18 (48 to 30).

Nowhere to go but up — Lethbridge (.417).

An explanation on rankings — Buzzing The Net uses Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) with a recency factor. RPI combines a team's record with the strength of its opponents to produce an overall rating. Our method also gives more weight to recently played games. Shootout wins and losses are classified as ties, for philosophical and practical reasons. Simple Ranking System (SRS), a ranking which combines goal differential and strength of schedule, is used as a complement. All three CHL leagues are considered equivalent in quality.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.